There are some key developmental milestones you can expect your child to reach between age 1 and 2 years.
The ages given for milestones in this guide are an average. Every child is different. Most children should be meeting these milestones.
Non-urgent advice: Contact your GP or public health nurse if:
- you are concerned about your child’s development
- your child loses skills they had before
They may carry out more tests or refer your child to a specialist.
By 14 months
Most toddlers will reach certain milestones at 14 months old.
Motor skills
Your toddler will:
- start to walk independently
- be able to build towers using 2 cubes
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will:
- say 1 word at a time, such as 'no' or the name of a particular object
- use lots of loud babble and point to items at the same time
- use a few single words that can only be understood by family members
Learn how you can support your toddler's communication development.
Social and emotional
They’ll play alongside other children but not with them. This is called parallel play.
Your toddler may:
- be easily frightened by loud noises - they may cry if they are startled by a sound like a door slamming
- want your attention and praise
- react to changes in their daily routine
- be able to soothe and comfort themselves as well as getting comfort from you
- enjoy starting games with another person, such as peek-a-boo
Learn how you can support your toddler's social and emotional development.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will put 2 cubes into 1 hand to hold a third cube.
When to get medical advice
Sometimes development can be slower than you expect. Or you may notice something different about your toddler. It's normal to feel worried. Support is available.
Contact your GP or public health nurse if you notice your toddler:
- does not say words that have meaning
- does not point to objects
- does not give much eye contact
- shows little interest in other people
- loses skills they had before
By 16 months
Most toddlers will reach certain milestones at 16 months old.
Motor skills
Your toddler will:
- crawl upstairs
- be able to build towers using 3 cubes
Their legs will be stiff when they run.
Communication and hearing
Your toddler may:
- have a vocabulary of 5 to 10 words
- understand more single words and simple phrases such as 'stop' and 'shoe'
Learn how you can support your toddler's communication development.
Social and emotional
They’ll start doing pretend play. For example, they may pretend blocks are a house or pretend to talk on a phone.
Your toddler may:
- enjoy getting praise and attention from you
- get upset when they do not get something they want
- not want to share toys with other children
Lear how you can support your toddler's social and emotional development.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will:
- look for a toy that is hidden
- enjoy books they can feel, touch and explore
- turn a household item into something they can play with
When to get medical advice
Sometimes development can be slower than you expect. Or you may notice something different about your toddler. It's normal to feel worried. Support is available.
Contact your GP or public health nurse if you notice your toddler:
- is not standing independently
- is not walking with support
- loses skills they had before
By 20 months
Most toddlers will reach certain milestones by 20 months old.
Motor skills
Your toddler will:
- walk upstairs while holding your hand
- stack 3 to 6 small blocks on top of each other
- turn the pages of a book by themselves
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will:
- be able to point to different body parts
- use non-verbal language to communicate what they want
- use around 15 to 20 single words and try to put 2 words together, for example, “bye dada”
- understand simple yes or no questions, such as “are you hungry?”
They may:
- tug on your pants to be picked up
- jump up and down if they’re excited
- shake or nod their head when you ask a question
Learn how you can support your toddler's communication development.
Social and emotional
They’ll be able to feed themselves and take off clothes.
Learn how you can support your toddler's social and emotional development.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will scribble back and forth using a crayon.
When to get medical advice
Sometimes development can be slower than you expect. Or you may notice something different about your toddler. It's normal to feel worried. Support is available.
Contact your GP or public health nurse if you notice your toddler:
- is not walking independently
- cannot speak at least 6 words
- loses skills they had before
By 24 months
Most toddlers will reach certain milestones at 24 months old.
Motor skills
Your toddler will be able to:
- jump
- kick a ball
- throw a ball
- make a ‘train’ using cubes
- use a crayon or marker to copy a vertical line after seeing you do it first
Communication and hearing
Your toddler will:
- be able to say 2 or 3 word sentences
- refer to themselves by their names
- have 50 or more words in their vocabulary
- understand more words and short, simple instructions
- play pretend with toys and copy things they see you do every day, such as using a phone
- start to understand words such as 'big', 'small' and 'in' - words such as ‘under’, ‘on’ and ‘over’ can still be a little confusing
- use more speech sounds but their words may still be unclear - you should understand at least half of what they are trying to say
Learn how you can support your toddler's communication development.
Social and emotional
Your toddler will:
- match objects to pictures
- imitate or copy others to please them
- be OK if separated from you and will continue with their activity
Your child may:
- test limits to see if they can get their own way
- have temper tantrums when they do not get their way
- be less frightened by things like heights or strangers
- be less upset by short separations from you
- become more difficult to put to bed
- cry if you’re cross or upset with them
- be jealous if you give attention to other young children
- have an understanding of self - for example, recognising their face in a mirror
You may notice your child:
- asks lots of questions
- is interested in different parts of their body - including their genitals
- says 'no' often - this shows they are gaining confidence
- enjoys sharing their achievements with you and getting your praise and encouragement
- is unable to take the feelings of others into account - they think the world revolves around them
- becomes interested in children of the same age and other adults and talking to them
- becomes more confident so they are able to be apart from you for short periods of time - for example going to preschool
Learn how you can support your toddler's social and emotional development.
Problem-solving, learning and understanding
Your toddler will:
- continue to do pretend play
- copy a line drawn on a piece of paper
- enjoy lots of repetition in their play
- copy a line drawn on a piece of paper
- match objects to pictures
- enjoy puzzles with large pieces
- enjoy books they can feel and touch
When to get medical advice
Sometimes development can be slower than you expect. Or you may notice something different about your toddler. It's normal to feel worried. Support is available.
Contact your GP or public health nurse if you notice your toddler:
- cannot walk steadily
- does not follow simple instructions
- cannot walk up and downstairs holding on
- does not show interest in other children and adults
- cannot speak or join words together
- loses skills they had before
